Foundations for Communications

Course Lecturer Names:	Kasey Larson & Deborah Weinheimer
Course Director Name:	Deborah Weinheimer

Contact Information:

• Deborah Weinheimer
  E-mail: dweinhei@sgu.edu: Virtual appointments: https://dweinheimer.youcanbook.me;   Office: DES, 3^rd floor; Phone: 444-4175 (ext. 3161)
• Kasey Larson
  E-mail: klarson@sgu.edu; Virtual appointments: https://kasey-larson.youcanbook.me; Office: DES, 3^rd floor; Phone: 444-4175 (ext. 3372)

Office Hours: All faculty appointments must be made using YouCanBookMe. Use the links above to set up individual appointments with the faculty. If the available appointment times listed on youcanbook.me conflict with your schedule, contact the faculty through e-mail to request an alternate time.

Course Support: Instructors will host scheduled appointments and respond to e-mails during Grenadian working hours (weekdays from 08:00 – 17:00 –4 GMT). Please feel free to email the faculty at any time but note that the faculty may not be able to respond outside of working hours. While occasional responses outside of working hours will occur, this should not be expected as the norm. 

The faculty will generally respond to email within 24 working hours. If you do not hear from them within 24 working hours, feel free to follow up.

Course Description:   

“Foundations for Communication” (FC) is a skills-based course intended to provide communication skills necessary for success in academic pursuits at SGU. In this course, students will develop and practice the foundational skills necessary for communication in academic and scientific contexts. These skills include the development of specific language skills (reading, writing, listening, and speaking) as well as general communication skills, critical thinking, and cultural awareness. Overall, students will gain confidence in their ability to communicate effectively through the language and culture of medicine.   

The course carries 10 credits and meets for a total of 500 minutes per week over the 16-week term, following the calendar of St. George’s University School of Arts and Sciences. The course is composed of interactive, face-to-face classes and asynchronous, self-directed learning classes/assignments.  

Course Objectives:   

This course will guide student in exploring three themed sections that focus on specific skill sets: reading/writing, speaking/listening, and self-directed learning. Each themed section has separate assignments that work together to allow students to develop and apply language, skills, and strategies within a meaningful context. Active participation in all course activities will facilitate students’ achievement of the following student learning outcomes:

Student Learning Outcomes:  

1. Utilize university services to improve student experiences.  
2. Demonstrate cultural and professional competencies in interactions of various contexts.  
3. Apply academic literacy and technological skills to complete course tasks and assignments.  
4. Develop a growth mindset through reflective practices.  
5. Apply paraphrasing and summarizing skills orally and in writing.  
6. Construct themed paragraphs by synthesizing information from various sources.   
7. Use formal and informal language that is appropriate for the situation.    8. Critically appraise sources for use in academic settings.  

9. Distill information from sources to draw connections and conclusions.  
10. Evaluate your own and others’ oral and written communication.   
11. Modify performance and assignments using your own and others' feedback.  
12. Develop a stance that shows comparison, causation, or persuasion orally and in writing.  

EMP Program Goals Met by This Course:  

1. To prepare students for the medical and academic language and skills necessary to be successful at SGU and in clinical settings
2. To extend understanding and skills for sociocultural communications in academic and medical contexts
3. To engage in the application of critical thinking and analysis
4. To develop and integrate skills for reading, writing, speaking and listening in an academic and medical context.

Course Materials:  

Text: There is no required textbook for this course. All course materials, including lecture videos, slides, assignment descriptions, and additional readings, will be posted in MyCourses. You will be required to utilize OneDrive and Microsoft Word through your @sgu.edu e-mail for class assignments.

Course Management tool: To learn to use Sakai, the MyCourse management tool, access the link: https://apps.sgu.edu/members.nsf/mycoursesintro.pdf  

SAS Grading Scale: Grades will be assigned as follows:  

A = 89.5% or better  

B+ = 84.5 - 89.4%  

B = 79.5 - 84.4%  

C+ = 74.5 - 79.4%  

C = 69.5 - 74.4%  

D = 64.5 - 69.4%  

F    = 64.4% or less   

Course Grading Requirement:

Students must meet the minimum academic standards for the preclinical program and maintain the minimum WMPG. Additionally, students must earn a minimum of 69.5% in each EMP English course.   

Grade Distribution

Graded Components	Percentage of Total Grade
Attendance & Professionalism	10%
Self-directed Learning	20%
Reading & Writing	35%
Speaking & Listening	35%
Total	100%

Course Requirements: 

Attendance and Professionalism (10%) 

Attendance and professionalism are essential in FC and will be worth 10% of the overall course grade. Student will be marked absent when arriving 10+ minutes late. Four points will be allotted for every class based on the following rubric:

	0	1	2
Attendance	Student is absent without previously alerting instructors OR joins more than 10 minutes late.	Student joined session after class start time but within 10 minutes OR left within 10 minutes of class.	Student is on time and prepared for synchronous sessions when class begins.
Professionalism	Student is disruptive or unresponsive in a way that material is not processed.	Student is occasionally disruptive or unresponsive in communication and/or assignment submissions.	Student is professional in communications, is prepared for class, and submits assignments on time.

If you anticipate that you will be unable to meet the attendance or professionalism requirements, or if an unanticipated circumstance prevents you from meeting the requirements, you must notify your course instructors before the next class/deadline to be excused.

Self-directed Learning 20%

Being a self-sufficient learner contributes to student success in academic settings. To encourage more self-sufficiency, a portion of FC is fully self-directed. This means that you will be provided with guidelines and goals that you are expected to meet on your own before the assigned deadlines. Specific instructions and deadlines for completing the following goals will be posted in MyCourses: 

• Learning Strategist (LS) Session 1, 2, 3, & 4
• Peer Learning Group (PLG)1 & 2
• Tech & Typing Session
• Psychological Services Center (PSC) Appointment
• MAC Module (block 2)       

Reading & Writing 35%

Students will participate in various written assignments and drafts, peer-review, reading activities, and reflections to assess students’ ability to provide and address feedback, engage with scientific articles, and meet course learning outcomes. The guidelines for each reading/writing assignment and their rubrics will be posted in MyCourses:

       Professional E-mail            

       Reading Strategy Reflection             

       Summary Assignment           

       Synthesis Assignment           

       Argumentative Group Essay           

Speaking & Listening 35%

Students will demonstrate their ability to meet the course learning outcomes by engaging in discussions, role plays, reflections, presentations, and debates with classmates and instructors. Students are expected to apply feedback and build on skills learned in previous assignments as the course progresses. These assignments will be evaluated using separate guidelines and rubrics found in MyCourses:

• Professional Role Play        
• Team Building Challenge   
• Reflection Summary Presentation              
• Impromptu Speech Assignment    
• Debate         

Course Schedule* 

S = Synchronous class; A = Asynchronous class; R = Reading; W = Writing; Sp = Speaking; L = Listening  

Wk	Dates	Class Topic	Homework Assigned	Homework Due**
1	Jan 17   S	Introduction, course expectations, syllabus review
	Jan 18   S	R/W: Academic professionalism in Reading and Writing Introduction for (pre-)med school and beyond.

 

	Jan 19   S	Sp/L: Formal vs. informal interactions (demeanor, language, interactions. Introduce role play and challenge assignment)	Professional role play    Team building challenge
	Jan 20   S	R/W: Reading diagnostic & reading strategies
	Jan 21   S	University services and self-directed learning expectations (Gillian Francis PLG/SL & LStrat)	Register for a PLG (1)    Book an LS appt to discuss scheduling (session 1)
2	Jan 24   S	Sp/L: Listening for main ideas +group interaction strategies
	Jan 25   S	R/W: Professional Emails
	Jan 26   S	Sp/L: Professional interaction role play		Professional role play
	Jan 27   S	R/W: Professional Emails continued	Professional Email Assessment
	Jan 28   A	Self-directed learning	Book a LS appt to discuss note-taking (session 2)	LS Session 1: submit schedule
3	Jan 31   S	Sp/L: Team building challenge + reflection (how did the group work go, specific examples, group discussion to reflect using interaction strategies)	Team building reflection notes	Team building challenge
	Feb 1   S	R/W: Reading & Writing for Main Ideas Intro		Professional Email Assessment
	Feb 2   S	Sp/L: verbal summary + presentation skills	Reflection summary presentation	Team building reflection notes
	Feb 3   S	R/W: Summarizing 1
	Feb 4   A	Self-directed learning	Typing Session	PLG 1: submit reflection
4	Feb 7-11	PCLN Exams – No class
5	Feb 14    S	Sp/L: Reflection summary presentations		Reflection summary presentation
	Feb 15    S	R/W: Summarizing 2	Summary Check-in    Summary Assignment Draft 1    Reading Strategy Reflections
	Feb 16    S	Sp/L: Summary presentation follow-up (discussion about themes within groups)
	Feb 17    S	R/W: Summary Assignment Workshop Day		Summary Check-in
	Feb 18   A	Self-directed learning	Book LS to discuss topic of choice (session 3)	LS Session 2: submit lecture notes
6	Feb 21    S	Sp/L: PSC Guest Speaker (cultural differences and holding space for others)
	Feb 22    S	R/W: Reading & Writing for Specific Details Intro
	Feb 23    S	Sp/L: Introduction to impromptu speech assignment (what is improv + brief practice)	Impromptu speech assignment
	Feb 24    S	R/W: Paraphrasing & Summary Review		Summary Assignment Draft 1
	Feb 25   A	Self-directed learning	Review PSC guest lecture session

 

7	Feb 28    S	Sp/L: Inference (drawing conclusions and reading between the lines)
	Mar 1    S	R/W: Synthesis 1		Reading Strategy Reflection Part 1
	Mar 2    S	Sp/L: Improvisation activities
	Mar 3    S	R/W: Synthesis 2	Summary Assignment Final
	Mar 4   A	Self-directed learning	Choose one MAC session (block 2) to complete during weeks 10-15	Typing/Tech session due
8	Mar 7-11	Midterm Exams – No class		Summary assignment final due Mar 11 by 11:55 PM
9	Mar 14    S	Sp/L: Note-taking (practice listening and noting inferences and main points)
	Mar 15    S	R/W: Synthesis 3	Synthesis Check-in    Synthesis Assessment Draft 1
	Mar 16    S	Sp/L: Impromptu speech practice
	Mar 17    S	R/W: Synthesis Writing Workshop Day		Synthesis Check-in
	Mar 18   A	Self-directed learning	Book PLG 2 (different class)	LS: submit session 3 reflection
10	Mar 21    S	Sp/L: Compare and contrast impromptu speech day		Impromptu speech assignment due
	Mar 22    S	R/W: Introduction to Argumentation		Synthesis Assessment Draft 1
	Mar 23    S	Sp/L: Impromptu speech follow-up discussion
	Mar 24    S	R/W: Finding Sources and Assessing Credibility	Sources for Essay Assignment	Reading Strategy Reflection Part 2
	Mar 25   A	Self-directed learning	Book LS to discuss topic of choice (session 4)	PSC: Submit reflection
11	Mar 28    S	Sp/L: Introduction to debate assignment (choose topic)	Debate assignment
	Mar 29    S	R/W: General Essay Format & Introductions	Synthesis Assessment Final
	Mar 30    S	Sp/L: Verbal arguments (ethos, pathos, logos)
	Mar 31    S	R/W: The MEAL Plan		Sources for Essay Assignment
	Apr 1   A	Self-directed learning		PLG 2: Submit reflection
12	Apr 4-8	PCLN Exams – No class		Synthesis assessment final due Apr 8 by 11:55 PM
13	Apr 11    S	Sp/L: Politely disagreeing (rebuttals)
	Apr 12    S	R/W: Analysis & Counterarguments
	Apr 13    S	Sp/L: Intro to debate (structure, rebuttals vs. refutation)
	Apr 14    S	R/W: More on Analysis and Conclusions	 Argumentative Essay Check-in - Outline
			 Argumentative Group Essay Draft 1
	Apr 15	Good Friday – No class
14	Apr 18	Holy Monday – No class
	Apr 19    S	R/W: Inferencing & Argumentative Essay Workshop Day		Argumentative Essay Check-in – Outline
	Apr 20    S	Sp/L: Debate Skills (note-taking, tone & bias)
	Apr 21    S	R/W: Argumentative Essay Workshop Day
	Apr 22   A	Self-directed learning		LS: submit session 4 reflection
15	Apr 25    S	R/W/Sp/L: Workshop - Debate and Persuasion Assignments	Argumentative Group Essay Final	Argumentative Group Essay Draft 1
	Apr 26    S	Sp/L: Debate		Debate Group 1 Outline & Peer Evaluation
	Apr 27    S	Sp/L: Debate		Debate Group 2 Outline & Peer Evaluation
	Apr 28    S	R/W/Sp/L: Course Wrap-up		Reading Strategy Reflection Part 3
	Apr 29   A	Self-directed learning		MAC session passed (all sessions and assignments completed)
16	May 2-6	Final Exams – No class		Argumentative group essay final due May 4 by 11:55 PM

* Schedule may change throughout the term. All changes will be announced in class and updated on the syllabus.  

** Homework is due 5 minutes before the start of class time on the day it is due, unless otherwise stated.